Wrench.



F. M. LANDON.

WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1912.

1,109,766. Patented Sept.8,1914.

I 7 By A TTOR/VEY M UNITED. S AT S FRED ERICK M. mama, or, TACOMA, WASHI GTON,

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK M.. LAN.- DON, a citizen of the United States, andresident of- Ta'coma, in the county of Pierce and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in renches, of which the following is a specification.

- This invention relates to wrenches and especially to those wrenches Which are adapted to grip a pipe, ashaft, orother cylindrical object, 'andhas for its objects toprovide 5 duced in sizeto pass through the face slot in a wrench which will grip the pipe in three or more places; which'cannot accidentally be removed from the pipe; which may be worked when there is but little space backof the pipe; and in which the strains are so distributed that it will be very strong, though light, and will be very durable. I'

attain these and other objectsby the devices, mechanisms, andarrangements illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which- Figure 1 is a side'elevation ofjthe wrench showing it as engaging api'pe; Fig; 2 is a Similar view of the head of the wrench show ing itbeing placed in position to engage a pipe; Fig. 3 is' a similar view showing a modified form of jaw; Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the movable jaw shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 5' is a cross section of the adjusting rack-bar.

' Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Two of the main objections to pipe wrenches as at present on the market, are, that they do not firmly grip the pipe but often slip thereon as they contact therewith only at two op'posite points as a rule, and

that they oftenfiy. off the pipe and hit the operator under the strains applied thereto. Another objection is found in the factthat the opening between the jaws is usually on one side, with the result that they cannot conveniently be used when there is but small a working space around the pipe. In order to overcome these objections I have devised the hereinafter described wrench.

The wrench conslsts of a fixed part, comprising a handle and a fixed jaw; a movable jaw adjustably pivoted to the fixed part; and a rack bar to hold the movable jaw in position. The handle 1 is of suitable design and has a guide lug 2 extending to one side thereof, said lug or arm being slotted in its face to receive the end of the movable jaw therein and in its sides to form the guide for the pivot of the said movable jaw. A

Specification of LettersiPat' ent. j Patented 1914: Application filed July 8Q1B1-2. Serial No. 708,148. A

screw-bolt 3 handle 1 and into the lug 2. 1 A p1vot pin 4; !passes through the head of the bolt 3 and I through tl1eside slots. 5'in the guide arm .2 and has a suitable nut and head thereon.

passes transversely through the j A circular nut, 6 is loosely mounted in a cavity 7 1n thehandle land screws on the said 5 bolt 3 to control the position of the head thereof in the arm2 and thereforethe posil tion of the pivot pin, 4..

A movable jaw 8, having its inner end re- A the arm 2, ispivoted to the head of the screw 3by the pivot pin 4, whichlpasses through 1 the end of the jaw. 'Since the pivot pin: 4 can travel onlyin the slots 5 the inner end of the jaw 8 isaadjustable only. along the line of the said slots The jawS is free to turn j about the p'ivot, in whatever position the Psaid pivot may betplaced in the slots 5, ex-

i cept as limited and controlled by the rack l bar 9. This bar 9 is pivoted within a cavity in the fi xed jawjlO, abouth'alf way between v the end thereofand the screw 3, and extends ,across the gap to the-n1ovable jaw. It is provided with teeth ODfbOtll sides and may conveniently be made of a circular bolt hav-v j ingtwo'opposit'e sides fl-attened'as shown in Fig. 'It passes through a cavity in the ;jaw 8. A small toothll is formed on the jaw 8 at the edgeof the cavity therein. and engages. the teeth on the outer side of the rack A transversely sliding latch12 is mounted in the jaw S on the opposi-teside of the cavityand has a tooth 13 which engages the teeth "onthe inner side of the rack 9. This latch 12' is pressed toward the rack 9 by a spring 14: and has a thumb knob 15 securedto it whereby the latch may be with drawn from contact'with. the rack against the actionofthe spring 14 and thus the jaw ,8 may be adjusted on the rack 9 to engage a diiferentpoint thereon. a i i x The jaws 8 and 10 are hollow faced, and are each formed with two surfaces at right angles to each other, the surfaces of the two jaws being complementary as shown in Fig. 1. The ends of the jaws are substantially in line'with the roots thereof so that when said jaws are brought close together the said ends will practically touch, and so that if the aws are parallel the gripping surfaces A are farther apart than the dis tance between the points of the aws, so that if an object is engaged by thegripping surfaces it cannot pass through the space between the ends until the said ends are further separated.

Suitable gripping pieces 16, preferably serrated, are loosely mounted in the jaws 8 and 10 by pins 17 which pass through holes 18 in the parts 19 of said pieces which enter into the hollowed portion of the said jaws, said holes being larger than the pins to permit of a limited motion of the pieces rela-' Springs 20 press the Y bar pivoted to one portion and adjustably engaging the other portion whereby the opening between said portions is adjusted.

tively to the jaws.

pieces 16 toward the article to be gripped. The adjacent ends of the parts 19 of the )ieces 16 engage each other as shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 3 the aw 21 is similar to the jaw 8 in all points except that the shape of the gripping part is changed to provide for a single surface which is substantially parallel with the larger gripping surface of the fixed jaw 10. p i

It is evident that many variations of my device may bemade, as for instance, the rack bar may be reversed and pivoted to the 'movable jaw and the latch .may be mounted in the fixed jaw, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

My wrench is operated in the following I manner :WVhen it is to be applied to a pipe,

the nut 6 is turned to approximately the correct final position, in accordance with the size of the pipe to be gripped. Then the thumb knob 15 is drawn back and the jaw 8 until the ends are sufficiently separated to allow them to pass over the diameter of the pipe. Then the aw 8 is closed on the pipe (Fig. l) as far as it is possible to force it,

- v and the latch 12 is released thus looking it in position on the rack bar 9. At this time it may be sufficiently tight to grip the pipe because the serrated pieces 16 engage it in four places and creep and shift under the strain (but cannot move far), but if it is necessary to tighten the grip further the nut 6 is turned to force the pivot pin 4 farther out along the slots 5 thus bringing the jaws 8 and 10 closer together.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a WI61'lCl1,'tl16 combination with a fixed portion having a handle formed on one end and a jaw formed on the other end; of a screw-bolt transversely mounted in the handle and slidable therein; a nut screwed on said screw-bolt and mounted in the handle whereby the position of said bolt is adjusted; a pivot pin mounted on the end of saidscrew-bolt;'a movable portion pivoted to said fixed portion by said pin and having a jaw formed on its free end; and a rack 2. In a wrench, the combination with a fixed portion having a handle formed on one end and a jaw formed on the other end; ;,of an arm extending at right angles from I said fixed portion between the handle and 5 the jaw, and having a guide slot out there- 1 in; a screw-bolt transversely mountedin the handle in line with the slot in the arm; a

nut screwed on said screw-bolt and mount ved in the handle whereby the position of said bolt is adjusted; a pivot pin mounted on the end of said screw-bolt and passing through said slot and guided thereby; a

imovable portion pivoted to said fixed portion by said pin and having a jaw formed on its free end; and a rack bar pivoted to one portion and adjustably engaging the other portion whereby the opening between 1 said portions is adjusted. v is swung on the pivot pin 4, as in Fig. 2,

fixed portion having a handle formed on fone end and a jaw formed on the other end;

. 3. In a wrench, the combination with a fof a movable portion pivotally secured to the fixed portion and having a jaw formed jgon its free end; a rack bar plvoted to one 1port1on and passing across the space be- :tWQBIl the two portions and having teeth on two opposite faces thereof; means mounted on the other portion to engage the f teeth of the rack; and a sliding latch mountled on said portion on the opposite side of lsaid rack from said engaging means and engaging the teeth of said rack. i FREDERICK M. LANDON.

lVitnesses JAMEs H. Dues,

JAMns'B. GARNESS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centsieach, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

